Blog - Page 97 of 318 - John H Armstrong

Does Money Directly Impact Marriage?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:06-05:00November 18th, 2011|Categories: Marriage & Family, Money & Stewardship|

Married couples that care a great deal about money are much more likely to suffer from less peace and harmony in their marriage. This conclusion, from a Brigham Young University Provo, Utah, and William Patterson University, Wayne, New Jersey, study of 1,700 couples comes as no surprise to anyone who has counseled married couples for as many years as I have. A couple’s attitude toward money has always been one of the big three problems that destroys a marriage. (The other two common problems are sex and in-laws!)

In this recent survey couples who said money was not important to them scored 10% to 15% better on measures of relationship quality, such as marriage stability, than couples in which one or both partners were materialistic. Also, couples in which both partners said they valued a lot of money—about 20% of the total in the survey—fared worse than couples who were mismatched and just had one materialist in the marriage.

Jason Carroll, a BYU professor of family life […]

“Say It Ain’t So Joe!”

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:07-05:00November 16th, 2011|Categories: College Football, Current Affairs, Sexuality|

This famous line in my title comes from the infamous Black Sox baseball scandal that occurred early in the twentieth century. As the story goes a young lad, who loved “Shoeless Joe” Jackson of the Chicago White Sox, could not believe his hero has cheated. In the movie version of “Eight Men Out” the boy plaintively said, “Say it ain’t so, Joe!”

That’s about how I felt last week as we watched the Joe Paterno story unfold through every news medium possible. In this case even a sports story became a national tragedy. Not only did the actions of a famous coach (or his non-action in this sad case) make global news but it galvanized a whole new conversation about sex abuse. And well it should. But how could Joe Paterno, a decent and good man by every account, have failed to deal with this tragedy and thus allowed children to be molested by a predator? How could he not report this crime when he had […]

Doing Reformed Theology

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:07-05:00November 14th, 2011|Categories: Personal, Reformed Christianity, Theology|

I am sometimes asked, “Are you a Reformed theologian?” This post is a brief attempt to give an honest (and simple) answer to this question.

First, this question infers that I am a theologian. The answer to this part of the question is both yes and no. Every Christian is a theologian in some sense, either a good one or a bad one. If you think about your faith, in this case the Christian faith, then you are a Christian theologian. There are trained and untrained theologians. There are lay theologians, teaching theologians, writing theologians, etc. I do formally teach theology but I am not a professional writing theologian who has been highly trained an academic doctoral context for this noble purpose. I have limitations and freely admit it.

The great danger I see here is twofold. Untrained theologians can become rather self-confident because they have read a few “old” books, listened to their favorite teachers, and then strongly adopted what they believe to be true Christian theology. When they do this to the exclusion of all other Christian thought it then divides and creates real harm inside […]

Women, Ministry and the Paradox of Faith

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:07-05:00November 11th, 2011|Categories: Biblical Theology, Feminism & Women, Women in the Church|

Very few issues divide biblically-informed Christians from one another quite like the debate over the role of men and women in Scripture and the church. Over sixty-plus years of life I have discovered a wide-range of responses and views. From almost every view I have heard I have discovered a new way to read a particular text and to understand what the commentator believes this means for the modern church. Many of these claims to precise certitude were quite common on the side I once held. This prompted me to rethink how I read Scripture and what conclusions I should draw from my reading.

Within evangelical Protestant circles the two most common stances are called egalitarianism and complementarianism. I move in churches and among people on both sides of this debate. Broadly speaking, I do not generally advocate one position over the other because my mission is to promote unity among all churches and Christians. But I can’t avoid the debate since I do hold a view. I try to express that view in a way that respects those I disagree with. But at times some will […]

A Film Premiere: Archbishop Oscar Romero

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:07-05:00November 9th, 2011|Categories: Roman Catholicism|

Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (1917—1980) was a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in El Salvador. He became the fourth archbishop of San Salvador. Romero was assassinated on 24 March 1980 while serving Mass in a small chapel at a Catholic hospital.

Romero’s assassination came one day after a sermon where he had called on Salvadoran soldiers, as Christians, to obey God's higher order and stop carrying out the government's repression and the violation of basic human rights. His assassins were financially supported, from what we know of the history and testimony of that time, by the U.S. government. While aspects of Romero’s liberation theology were condemned by the Vatican his martyrdom was recognized as an act of personal courage in the face of violence against the church. In 1997, a cause for beatification and canonization into sainthood was formally begun for Romero. Pope John Paul II bestowed upon him the title of Servant of God. The canonization process still continues. The film Romero (1989), […]

Blogging for ACT 3 and My Future Plans

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:07-05:00November 7th, 2011|Categories: ACT 3, Personal|

I have been an active and committed blogger since 2005. I have “quit” scores of times (in my mind). I have once or twice spoken about quitting. The sole reason I haven’t is because I meet people who tell me that reading these posts has made a difference in their spiritual journey. If you have found any reason for deeper faith, hope and love through this blog then I give God the thanks and praise.

Recently I thought again about these blogs and my own life and vision. After some careful consideration I am not quitting the blogs but I am changing what I do, how often I do it and what my more narrowly defined purpose will be. My best friend is my wife Anita. We talk about this stuff and she helped me clarify my direction and I do listen to Anita. (By the way, this new photo really captures something of our friendship if you look at it really carefully!)

Each week I write what is […]

My Love for College Football and the Game of the Season

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:07-05:00November 5th, 2011|Categories: College Football|

It is well-documented that I love college football. I have been accused of choosing to attend the University of Alabama (1967-69) because of this passion. This accusation is not entirely true. But it is a serious partial truth. I went out-of-state in the fall of 1967 (I lived in middle Tennessee) because I wanted to go away to college. I also wanted to follow a friend who was a pastor who had just moved to Tuscaloosa. And I wanted to root for the Crimson Tide, being a big-time Bear Bryant fan. After my growing relationship with Christ manifested itself in a clear call to mission I transferred to Wheaton College to finish my bachelor’s and master’s degrees after January of 1969. But I never lost my passion for all things Crimson Tide. I have more shirts, jackets and hats than most fans. I wear crimson as my color of choice. Hey, I did this even when the Tide was losing and being routinely mocked by ESPN with […]

“Sir, We Would Like to See Jesus”

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:07-05:00November 3rd, 2011|Categories: Jesus|

In the Fourth Gospel we read the following account about Jesus and his disciples:

²⁰ Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. ²¹ They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.”²² Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

This request from some Greeks to “see Jesus” has intrigued me for years. I believe, in a simple but powerful way, it underscores what every human heart hungers for—Jesus! The problem is that most churches, and few Christians, actually help people to see Jesus.

My friend Fr. Joseph F. Girzone recently underscored this again in his October issue of the Joshua Mountain Newsletter.

Lately, many churches and parishes are embarking on evangelization programs to introduce people to the Christian message. Interestingly, when I read the description of how they plan to evangelize, so frequently I never see Jesus mentioned in the whole description of the evangelization […]

A Catholic and Evangelical Conversation

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:07-05:00November 1st, 2011|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Missional-Ecumenism, Roman Catholicism, Unity of the Church|

You are cordially invited by the Chicago area Fuller Seminary Board of Trustees to join fellow alumni and friends in the Chicago area on Monday, November 14, for a conversation between the president of Fuller Seminary and the president of the Catholic Theological Union.

Dr. Richard J. Mouw
President, Fuller Theological Seminary
Professor of Christian Philosophy

Fr. Donald Senior, C.P.
President, Catholic Theological Union
Professor of New Testament Studies

Catholics and Evangelicals: How Much Common Ground?

When:
Monday, November 14, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.

Where:
The Arts Club of Chicago
201 East Ontario Street
Chicago, IL 60611

Space is limited, so RSVP now to reserve your spot!

Questions? Email rsvp@fuller.edu or call 1-800-617-3209

Reformation Day: How Far Does the Fall Go?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:08-05:00October 31st, 2011|Categories: History, Humor|

Today is All Saints Eve. It is also Reformation Day. This made me wonder about sin and the ages old debate about the consequences and depths of human sin. Luther said that sin bound us to spiritual death thus we were in bondage from birth. This was, of course, the same thing St. Augustine had taught. Besides the obvious evidence that the fall of man brought with it death, including death in the physical realm, one wonders at times if animals might experience some human like qualities when it comes to sin and the fall.

For example, do our pets have a tendency to rebel that is inborn? When a child sees a “Do Not Enter” sign the first thing they want to do is to enter that door, right? What about dogs? When they see a “No Dogs Allowed” sign do they react similarly?

The answer might not be conclusive scientifically but this photo made me laugh out loud. It is a picture that is […]